DON’T QUESTION ANSWER MAN

If there’s one thing I’ve learned during my decade working in a sports department, it’s we’re considered ambassadors. All-knowing really.

If there is a sports-related question, humanity expects us to have the answer. There’s not much difference between us and “The Avengers” really.

I can’t tell you how many bar bets I’ve had to settle over the years.

Once I realized this was unofficially part of my job, I made sure I always had something in the chamber. You know, just in case I ran into a swimming fan who wanted to debate Mark Spitz vs. Michael Phelps while I was shopping at a Farmer’s Market.

True story actually. It was hard for me to back Phelps, considering Spitz and I share a hometown. The gentleman did have one solid point, however. Spitz won his seven gold medals while rocking a truly groovy mustache. Point taken, sir.

See, these conversations are the lifeblood of sports fandom. How many great, time-consuming conversations start from someone spouting off some random or “useless” sports fact?

Continuing with Cheap Seats’ ongoing effort to dig your nose out of your smartphone and force you to communicate with another human being face to face, here are some “useless” facts to kick start future conversations.

Maybe next time I get the hankering for some organic strawberries and live music, you’ll have some talking points ready:

• Golf is the only sport ever to be played on the moon. On Feb. 6, 1971, astronaut Alan Shepard hit a golf ball. It sliced right and kept going. Shepard than tossed his club into the Sea of Tranquillity out of frustration.

• Gymnasiums were introduced in 900 B.C. and Greek athletes practiced in the nude to the accompaniment of music. They also performed naked at the Olympic Games. See, International Olympic Committee. You don’t have to get rid of wrestling to improve television ratings.

• The baseball home plate is 17 inches wide. Although, depending on what umpire you ask, the answer would range from 15 to 19 inches.

• Fishing is considered the biggest participant sport in the world. That explains why everyone seems to have a fish story.

• The electric chair was invented by a dentist. Yet another reason to postpone your yearly checkup.

• The first alarm clock could only ring at 4 a.m. It was knocked off the nightstand at 4:01 a.m.

• A “faceoff” in hockey was originally called a “puck-off.” There’s not a joke I can make that won’t get me in trouble.

• Tug of War (right) was an Olympic event between 1900 and 1920. I’m officially nominating it for 2020. Can we at least get a reality competition featuring celebrities as coaches? Come on ABC, bring this back as part of a “Superstars” revival.

• In 1910 football teams were penalized 15 yards for an incomplete forward pass. So Tim Tebow (below) wouldn’t have been a good quarterback then either.

• Two continents — Africa and Antarctica — have never been awarded an Olympics. If Al Gore is right, Delphia, Antarctica is the favorite to host the 2060 Summer Games.

• Mark McGwire’s record-setting 70 home runs in 1998 traveled a total of 29,598 feet, enough to fly over Mount Everest. No telling how many syringes stacked on one another it would take to reach that height.

• Baseball cards have been around since 1886. Modern cards, with high-resolution color photographs on the front and player statistics on the back, date from 1953. The photos are taken in the spring, with and without team caps, just in case the player is traded to another team. They call this the Miami Marlins corollary.

• According to The New York Times, there are more head and spinal injuries from cheerleading than from all other high school and college sports combined. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell would not acknowledge a connection between head injuries and cheerleaders being dropped face first on the ground.